Can Not Lower My Nitrite To Zero

[longy1989]

hello i am currently under going a fishless cycle in my new tank i have been doing regular water changes however i can not get my nitrite level to zero it seems to stay between 0.50ppm to 1.0 ppm any suggestion or shud i just keep  doing water changes and wait longer ? 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

As long as your doing it fishless you don't have to worry about water changes unless your Nitrates are getting very high (I would do a water change at around 130ppm for Nitrates).
The best way to reduce your Nitrite is just to wait it out as you need to let the Nitrite bacteria develop and doing water change to reduce the Nitrite just slows it down.
You will quite likely experience a high Nitrite spike while you are waiting for the Nitrite bacteria to form. (One person I have been talking to had his Nitrite tests go black/dark purple which is pretty much off the chart).
So the best option is just to wait it out.
Make sure to keep adding Ammonia or else the Ammonia bacteria will start to die off.
For every water change that you do, whether its now or in the future make sure to add dechlorinater as chlorine will kill all of the "good" bacteria as soon as its in contact with it!
Hope this helps!

 

[longy1989]

thanks alot very helpfull ,  so i need ammonia to do the cycle i cant jusst let the tank sit for several weeks i need to add amonia 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Yes that's right.
Have a look here and you should find lots of helpful info:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

Also test your tap water as that may have some ammonia/nitrite/nitrate in it.

 

[Mamashack]

The bacteria need food (ammonia) to develop and convert ammonia to nitrItes in the first instance then another slow-developing set of bacteria convert the nitrItes to nitrAtes. With no ammonia the process of developing can't even begin. It's much better and quicker to do fishless cycling so well done for chosing that option. If you can get some mature media from someone - gravel or filter media from a mature (cycled) tank that would speed up the process. It can be 4-6 weeks the fishless way and 2-3 times longer with fish-in and can be very tedious due to the need for daily if not more frequent water changes.
Don't know where in the world you are, but in the UK a good source of ammonia is the cleaner Kleenoff as it has no added surfactants and detergents and is 9.5% ammonia. To help you work out how much to add, there's a calculator on this forum - the link is at the top of any page ^^^^ inbetween General Rules & Twitter links.
Good luck, longy!

 

[Essjay]

Just a word of warning about Kleen Off. I have come across the tale of someone who was using Kleen Off to do a fishless cycle and getting nowhere - till their friend noticed they were using Kleen Off drain cleaner which contains sodium hydroxide not ammonia. Kleen Off is a range of cleaning products not just ammonia. Make sure you read the label.

 

[Mamashack]

Good point essjay!